In some surgical procedures involving bones, for instance, the procedure may involve separating a bone into portions, which are thereafter reunited. This happens, for instance, in entries into the chest cavity, as for heart surgery, where the sternum is required to be separated along its length (resected), in the transverse plane, or a combination of the two. There may be other instances where a bone has undergone fracturing through some trauma, and is thereafter to have portions rejoined for proper healing. While discussed herein largely in the context of bones, it will nonetheless be understood that aspects of the invention hereafter described may be applicable to other body parts. Furthermore, the surgical procedure could involve angled or other cuts, and not just a situation where the bone is divided along a length.
The bones or skeletal tissue, or combinations of bone and tissue, can be held secure to one another in adjacency using a fixation device, or system. The system is desirably designed that in the event that subsequent surgery is required, as in an emergency reentry to the chest cavity, the fixation device may be opened quickly and easily with as little harm to the patient as possible. Many kinds of conventional fixation devices of the foregoing type include wires or cables that are organized to pull the bone portions together, laterally across a divide or fracture. These types of fixation devices can be relatively complex to emplace, and require more effort than desired to undue in the event of an emergency. They are also typically emplaced post-resection.